What does Citron smell like?
Grate a citron and the smell is like a softened lemon, with a floral note and the bitterness of white pith. It evokes candied peel more than squeezed fruit. In a perfume it opens a composition cleanly, without the sharpness of lemon. Its staying power is that of any citrus. It stays bright for half an hour, then melts into the heart and leaves a dry, slightly bitter trace.
Origin and production
The citron tree (Citrus medica) is one of the ancestral species behind most cultivated citrus, lemon included. It probably originated in the Himalayan foothills and northeast India. It reached the Mediterranean in antiquity, where the Greeks knew it as the Median apple, hence its Latin name. Corsica and the Calabrian coast, nicknamed the Riviera dei Cedri, still grow it. In Judaism it is the etrog of the Sukkot festival. The essential oil is cold-pressed from the rind, and Buddha's hand is one of its varieties.
How perfumers use it
Perfumers use citron in the top for brightness without acidity. It pairs with ginger, pepper, neroli and pale woods such as cedar. Yves Saint Laurent L'Homme (2006) opens with it alongside ginger and bergamot. Acqua di Parma Fico di Amalfi, from the same year, pairs it with fig and grapefruit. Chanel Chance Eau Fraîche used it in 2007 to sharpen a floral chypre. Parfums de Marly Valero sets it at the top of an aromatic woody scent.
How to wear it
Citron works from spring to late summer, by day. Like any citrus it evaporates fast. Respray L'Homme or Fico di Amalfi after lunch rather than overdoing it in the morning.